Amanda Anders was 19 and studying with hopes of becoming an art teacher when she was shot and killed in a Denver apartment on the night of October 29, 2014. She shared the apartment with her roommate, 24-year-old Jose King; an argument there escalated and King shot Amanda and her friend, 22-year-old Nancy Worrell, who was a culinary student. Both women died.

King fled the scene but was soon arrested by Castle Rock police; he later said he had done a bad thing. A jury found King guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, and in January 2016 a judge sentenced him to two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

The families and friends of Amanda and Nancy were present at sentencing and spoke of their grief and the women’s lives beyond the tragedy.